Natixis Boosts Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE)

Natixis raised its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) by 322.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,202 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Intercontinental Exchange were worth $13,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ICE. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $158.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.34 and a 1 year high of $177.45.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 10,580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.47, for a total transaction of $1,761,252.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,661,008.24. This represents a 32.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 4,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.60, for a total value of $688,068.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,501,465.60. This represents a 6.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,931 shares of company stock valued at $10,492,868 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ICE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.47.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.